Jdate Review Canada

Overview:

JDate is aimed at Jews of all shades of religious observance and affiliation who are looking for any level of connection, from friendship to casual dating to a life partner. Whether gay, lesbian or straight - Jews of all ages can find what they’re looking for on JDate. The site is available in English and French, as well as Hebrew, and is used actively by Canadian, American, British, and Israeli singles and Jews worldwide. It boasts the largest number of users for any Jewish dating site with a wide range of singles in terms of outlooks, ages, lifestyle, and religious observance.

Pros

Handy app for Android and iOS

Many modes of communication including instant messaging, chat, and a ‘flirt’ button

Offline activities to promote real-life mingling

Cons

Video Review

Sign Up Process

JDate’s signup process is quick and easy. You can connect using your Facebook profile or your email address and share only the most basic personal details – your name and email address – in order to create a password and try out the site. This way you can test drive JDate for free before coming back to fill out your profile.

JDate puts a lot into helping members create a rich profile so it can help them find an appropriate match.In addition to asking about your location, lifestyle habits (e.g., smoker, regular exerciser), basic appearance, education level, and job, you’ll also be asked to share information about your hobbies, dating preferences, interests, and what you’re passionate about.

As a Jewish dating site, JDate inquires about your religious background, beliefs and values, and your level of observance such as whether you keep kosher and attend synagogue regularly.

To fill out your profile further, JDate requires members to write a short essay ‘About Me' and another one about ‘My Ideal Match.' There's also an optional section where you can write a brief paragraph response to topics like ‘My perfect first date,' ‘Cool places I've traveled to,' and ‘For fun, I like to…' Finally, both paid and free members can upload up to 12 photos.

Features & Communication Tools

JDate features a huge range of communication tools for getting in touch with someone who catches your eye. You can begin by using the ‘Flirt’ button to send a one-liner to someone and see if they send one back. You can ‘flirt’ with up to 30 members a day, send e-cards, view the JDate message boards, and check out who is viewing your profile. Additional communication tools include the ‘secret admirer’ option to let someone know you like them, instant messaging, chat, or video chat with added read notifications to let you know if your message was viewed.

Some clever features are available to help members connect with each other. The forums allow users to chat about neutral topics and there’s a ‘Kibitz Corner' where a new question is posted each day. You can choose whether to answer, but it's a useful way to start a conversation. JDate also organizes regular offline events such as mixers, parties, and volunteer opportunities to give members the chance to meet face-to-face.

However, not all of these features are available for free members. With a free account you can only browse, use the basic and advanced search tools, check who’s looking at your profile, and ‘favourite’ other members. You can also modify and edit your hide/view settings so you can control who can see your profile and what information is for public or private consumption.

Advanced features reserved for Premium users are the Member Highlight option, which makes your profile stand out in a bolder colour and Spotlight, which places your profile at the top of members’ search results lists.

Safety & Security

JDate tries hard to keep its members safe online. A sizeable section of its help area is dedicated to advice and tips for safe online dating, and members are often reminded to be wary about giving out their address or personal phone numbers and to meet first dates in a public location.

Every JDate photo and profile is reviewed and verified by a human team, to reduce the chances of fake profiles. JDate’s biggest plus is its venerability. It’s been going since 1997, a long time for a dating site, and is known to have successfully made an enormous amount of matches.

Prices

Members can try out JDate for free for as long as they’d like. As a free member, you can browse and search the user database and create a profile. You'll have to upgrade to a paid membership to be able to contact anyone, use the ‘flirt’ button, or participate in forums.

Paying for Premium membership adds Profile Highlight and Member Spotlight features, which are both ways to get your profile noticed by more matches. It also gives you Messaging+, which permits you to message all members, including free members who wouldn’t otherwise be contactable. Every Basic membership plan also incurs a one-time processing fee of $3.99.

Basic

Premium

1 month

$39.99/mo

$59.99/mo

3 months

$29.99/mo

$44.99/mo

6 months

$19.99/mo

$29.99/mo

Matchmaking & Search Functions

You’ll get daily matches on the website and by email (if you enable notifications) suggesting like-minded singles for you to connect with. These matches are made by combing your profile information but also by comparing online behavior and activity, making the matches more accurate than many other dating sites.

If you want control over who you connect with, you can use one of JDate’s many search functions. You can browse through the overwhelmingly huge database and filter profiles according to who’s online now, your closest match possibilities, and distance. A useful tool for anyone who finds the multiple images on the browse page too confusing is the LookBook, which presents just one profile at a time for you to consider. JDate’s advanced search functions let you filter the results in a thorough manner. You can search by any keyword you’d like or by level of education and religiosity markers like keeping kosher, lifestyle habits, or appearance.

What Users Are Saying

“I have been using JDate for about 2 months now and met some good guys, some bad guys but I have yet to meet anyone with whom I had butterflies in my stomach for… That is until I went to a JDate event. It was a wine and food tasting and it was one of the best nights of my life. I met a fellow JDate member there named George and while I do not believe in love at first sight it sure felt this way. JDate is a good dating site and I am glad my friend recommended it to me. Don’t give up I didn’t and I finally did meet my man.” - Naomi

“The site is pretty good though I have yet to meet the right guy for me.” - Jana

Help & Support

JDate has an extensive help area on its website with plenty of frequently asked questions and in-depth answers. You can search to see if your question has been asked before, or get direct support 24/7 via email or live chat. JDate staff are also quick to respond to complaints about other members and deal with inappropriate behavior.

Bottom Line

JDate is an easy site to use and the multiple communication options make it simple to get in touch with someone casually, flirtatiously, or to start a serious conversation. Customer support is good and safety and security are high on its priority list, which is reassuring. JDate claims thousands of marriages around the world thanks to its site, which is the biggest proof of success.